The Truth's Path
by Nastalgia
Summary: Abstergo recruits a new employee to help out with the Sample 17 project. Little is he aware of the danger involved in a desk job and what it could lead to in the end. Follow Ryan Arken as he finds out the truth about his employers and what that means for the world he lives in. Novelization of the modern day story parts of AC4.
1. The Golden Gates

So in case is wasn't clear in the description this is a novelization of the modern day parts of AC4. I will not be writing about Edward's adventure; however it will be referenced continually. These were just ideas I had while playing through these parts of the game. Anyway let's get started. I own nothing.

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><p><em><strong>October 29 2013<strong>_

The light was beginning to fade as the Animus slowly began to shut down. It was my first time being in one; however I had heard quite a lot about it in the last few years. Edward Kenway, his journey had just begun and I had no idea what to expect but from what I just saw, it was going to be an exciting one. The light was off and there was nothing but blackness for a moment before I heard a voice, "All right…easy now." The light of the real world blinded me for a moment as my eyes started to focus. In my way was a woman I had never seen before.

She smiled as she pulled off my Animus headset. "There you go. Welcome back." She turned and walked away towards a giant computer screen. My eyes finally adjusted so I could see her fully. She had short red hair, the kind that was obviously dyed but it looked really good. She wore a lower cut tan shirt with a black leather jacket over it. Her skirt and leggings matched the jacket, giving her a professional but easy-going look. She looked down at a tablet, obviously going over some data from my virtual romp. "Well your numbers look good…" She turned back to me.

"Well I try you know? Not that I'd actually know what bad numbers look like…" She smiled at me again.

"Now, let's make sure we didn't break your brain alright?" At first I thought that was a joke, and it might have been but I was a little worried. Any kind of neural tech could lead to something like that happening so I didn't want to take any chances. I nodded and we got to work. "I need you to move your head and look at these lights. Just here. Look up." A light flashed on the ceiling and I stared at it for a moment. "Down." She continued and I did the same for a light on the floor. "So far so good, let's get you up." It took me a moment to do so. I guess it was still part of the Animus process.

I got up off the chair and wobbled for a moment before she started speaking again. "So, welcome to the Sample 17 project."

"Thank you I'm happy to be chosen." I tried to contain the excitement that was actually building up right now. She turned away again.

"Before you get started, you're going to need this…" She turned back and was holding one of those phone earpieces that I had only seen those on the wealthier side of life use. She put it on my ear. "There you go." She began walking toward the door and then I heard her voice in my ear. "Testing, testing…1, 2, 3…hello, bonjour? Est-il bon ? It works?" It took me a moment to realize she was speaking French, which is stupid of me because I was in France so I really shouldn't have been surprised. I understood her but barely. I only had gotten the chance to start learning a small amount of French before I got offered this job and moved here from America. I touched my own earpiece and responded.

"Yeah, I think we're good." She smiled again and the door opened up.

"All right. Let's take a walk."

"Sweet. When I got here they just kind of shuffled me into that room to get started. I was excited anyway so it wasn't a big deal." We walked out into what appeared to be the main hall of the Abstergo facility. Everything looked state-of-the-art with screens everywhere depicting the things Abstergo was doing all over the world and some of the different projects they were working on. All of them tied to memories and DNA. It was a fascinating field of study, one I had never even considered until one of their researchers came to my college campus one day and spoke on it. After that I changed my major and everything hoping for a chance like this. I still can't believe I got it. I think she could see the look I must have had on my face because she waited until we came across some stairs before speaking again.

"Your file says you've done some memory research before, but not to this extent, which is surprising."

"Why is that surprising? Is it because I'm black?" That was a stupid joke in truth and I immediately regretted it after saying it but I tried to play it off by laughing. She stopped and turned to me. She stared for a moment before laughing a bit herself and giving me a light shove on the shoulder.

"Of course not, it's just that you're very good. The data-streams are very stable." We continued our trek down the hall and found large groups of people staring at the larger screens on the sides. I wondered if they actually worked there or if the were just observers. I continued looking at, well everything and she continued. "Impressive right? This building is barely six months old but Abstergo Entertainment has been a studio for a few years. Since 2010." The matched up with the timing of that scientist earlier. Back then they had talked about how there had been Abstergo Industries for many decades but back in 2010 was when they had moved into entertainment. The goal being to show people exciting visions of the past. Stuff like I was going to be doing, just on a bigger scale.

Further down the hall one of the screens shifted and showed a woman standing against a white background. Her face was concealed by the hat she wore but she looked battle ready with two blades coming from her wrists. "Maybe you saw Liberation? That was our first title powered by Animus tech."

"No, can't say I have. Heard it wasn't the best though." She sighed.

"I heard similar things, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. Soon we'll be unveiling commercial Animus servers for the whole world to enjoy. They'll offer passive experiences of course. Edited versions of real history. But only the exciting parts. And we think we found the perfect subject for our first full-length virtual feature: Caribbean pirates! So that's your gig."

"If it's anything like I experienced so far, then I look forward to it." In truth I always found it a bit strange that Abstergo wanted to find edited versions of history. I mean I know it's just for entertainment but if someone can edit history wouldn't that give that person power that really no one should have? Maybe I'm wondering for nothing. There are a million books on history, so it's not like they could really hide anything. Right?

We approached the information desk near the end of the hall. The woman began to walk towards it signaling we were headed that direction. "It'll just take a minute, okay?" There was another woman wearing a strange uniform made up of teal and orange colors standing at the desk. She turned away as we approached and began walking to the front entrance. She could have been a messenger or something, I wasn't completely sure.

"Well, thank you Nancy." She said something else in French which I didn't catch but I doubt it was anything relevant to me. She walked away from the desk and the woman I had been walking with started talking to Nancy. Again they spoke French but is sounded something like something was ready. To which the red head said thank you and maybe magnificent.

The red head who I realized I still didn't know the name of picked up a tablet from Nancy's desk and handed it to me. "This is for you. The primary tool of our trade. Your communicator." She paused for a moment as I observed it. "Power it up and give it a look. It's pretty slick." I had to look for the on button but once I found it the tablet came to life. A screen appeared with the famous Abstergo symbol before showing me all the options available. I really wanted to mess with it but I noticed the woman had kept moving. I ran to catch up.

"Sorry about that, just had to adjust to it and all." I said with a smirk. She nodded and motioned for us to continue.

"It's fine. Actually your tablet can point you in the direction of wherever you want to go in the building. It's pretty impressive. Which reminds me? You might have noticed that security is a little light around here."

"Actually I hadn't thought much of it but now that you mention it, it does seem light."

"Well that's because your communicator is the key to getting around." As she said that we finally reached the hallways end. We crossed a small bridge and entered an elevator to the upper floors. As soon as we walked in my tablet had a green light pop up on it. At the same time a light popped up in the elevator. I adjusted my glasses and looked back and forth between them. Red must have noticed because she spoke up. "See that flashing wireless signal? It means you're hooked up to the elevator. I'll let you do the honors. We're headed up to the Sample 17 studio. Second floor."

"Damn, this place gets cooler by the second…did I say that out loud?" Red laughed for a moment. She had a cute smile. I pressed the green light on the tablet and the elevator started moving. After only a few moments the elevator stopped. Obviously we had made it.

"You ready?"

"I was born ready."

"Let's go." I had reached my peak excitement now. This was going to be where I spent a lot of time and everything looked welcoming. The people were all smiling and everything looked sleek, almost to a creepy degree. We kept moving.

As we left the elevator Red noticed someone and jumped a bit. "Ah, there's the boss… Olivier Garneau, our CCO! I'll introduce you." She said hello to man in French, I assumed must have been that boss. He was tall and had shaggy black hair. He wore glasses like I did and seemed quite familiar with Red. He returned the hello and said what I am pretty sure was "Melanie" so I guess that must be her name. The two of them did that thing where you kiss each others cheeks in an exaggerated fashion. Must be a French thing. American's weren't much into that. Melanie looked at me. "Have you met our new hire? Just started today."

"I haven't. I'm Olivier, and your name?" For a moment I froze but snapped back quickly.

"It's Ryan Arken. Nice to meet you." We shook hands, and I had to make sure it was a firm one.

"Okay Mr. Arken, what project are you working on?" Melanie interjected.

"Sample 17. The Kenway line."

"Haytham? Conner?" I didn't know what those meant. Maybe names of other Kenway's? Hopefully I could check those out too.

"Edward. The pirate!" Melanie responded again. The boss heard her and did his best interpretation of a pirate before laughing. It made me laugh as well.

"Very exciting. Welcome aboard." Olivier turned to Melanie again. "Actually can we talk in your office for a minute?"

"Sure, just let me get Ryan here settled and I'll see you in…five minutes?" The boss responded in more French before one last "Nice to meet you," before I followed Melanie away.

In a moment we reach the research floor where all the desks were. Melanie continued giving me the rundown of things. "So, this is the Sample 17 floor. We're diving into the memories of one very generous donor, Desmond Miles." That name… I don't know what it was but it gave me pause. Maybe I heard it somewhere before but it sounded somewhat familiar. Or maybe it was nothing. I wasn't sure. "We're pulling all the best stuff from his DNA… and hopefully, one day we can forge some fantastic experiences from what we find in there."

"Oh I can attest that you will." I said with enthusiasm. We had stopped by a desk with what looked like someone under it, like when someone's fixing a car.

"This pair of legs is John, one of the wizards in IT. He's just fixing something for you."

"Not fixing. Calibrating." John responded. I couldn't see his face at all but he wore a lot of blue and that was all I could tell.

"Calibrating, right." Melanie corrected herself.

"Nice to meet you John, I'm Ryan. Look forward to working with you."

"Sure, new guy. Whatever you say." John returned. Melanie motioned me to the desk we were by.

"So here we are, your very own Animus workstation. This is all yours so sit back, relax and find us some new footage." The desk was circular with a ton of shelves and places to hold items. I pointed at the chair in front of the desk.

"Can I, you know…" I said with a grin on my face.

"Sure, go ahead! If you need any hints or tips, the Animus is loaded with tutorial programs, so you'll have no problems. I'll check in on you later. Happy Pirating!"

"Wait, one question before you go." She stopped and turned back to me. "Are you and the boss, like a 'thing'?" What was I thinking?! Such a stupid question. Maybe she didn't hear me and I got lucky. I never got lucky though.

"Why do you ask?" She said that with a smile so that was good news.

"Uh… you know? Just curiosity." She chuckled a bit before responding.

"Nope, I am a single woman… just for 'curiosity.'" She walked away. I sat down and stared at the Animus screen for a moment. Lost in my own reflection. My shaved black hair, green eyes and clean shaven face gave me a determined look.

"Is it okay for me to use this thing John?" I waited a moment for a response.

"Yeah, you're good. It most likely _won't_ fry your brain." I couldn't tell if that was supposed to be a joke but I was too excited to care. I picked up the headpiece and slipped it on. I was ready for a pirate adventure and things were looking up.

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><p>So that's how the chapters will go mostly. Like the story but I have spun it a bit to be (hopefully) more interesting. I hope I see you guys next time. I know these chapters may be short but I am just working with what I got.<p> 


	2. Cracks In The Glass

Alright, chapter 2 ahoy! Sorry it took longer than I expected, I was hoping to get some feedback form chapter 1…and I didn't so I just have to keep going.

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><p>November 10th 2013<p>

I found myself almost yelling in agreement with Edward's crew as the Animus shut itself down. I removed the head-gear and set it down on my desk. I found myself smiling at nothing. Everything had been even more exciting during this run through than before. Every time I log in it gets more exciting. I picked up my glasses, which have to be removed when I put the gear on, and began to get up. It was about time for a break and it seemed the appropriate time for one.

As I turned in my chair I saw Melanie walking up to me. This had become my _second_ favorite part of the job. She was always so damn smiley, it was nice. "Hey," She began. "I just saw you logging out. I thought I'd stop by and give you something. A little welcome gift." She pointed to the wall of my desk area and a painting was there that I hadn't seen before. It was a building, one obviously from the time I was researching and it looked really cool.

"Really, for me?! That's really cool thanks." I walked up to it to get a closer look. In reality I was a bit of a simpleton when it came to art. If someone could draw a circle I was usually impressed.

"Well, Ryan we give awards for top-notch employees doing quality work. And you certainly fit the bill for that."

"That's really awesome thanks."

"Yeah well, there isn't really an official bonus scheme here so…" She trailed off but it didn't really matter to me. Honestly I didn't even really know what she meant by that anyway. "I actually already have about eleven or so-," Melanie jumped a bit and touched her ear. Obviously she was getting a call. I tried not to notice by looking back at the picture. However I still heard her. "Oh…bonjure?... Of course… I'll pass it on." Her hand left her ear and she looked back to me with her signature smile.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"Well…it looks like Olivier wants to meet with you. It's exciting!" She began to walk away as she said that before following it up with "Follow me."

"What does he want to meet with me about?"

"He didn't say but don't worry. You're probably not in trouble or anything. It's on the top floor, so it's not hard to find. But if you hadn't already noticed the rest of the building can be confusing for first timers, so we had the tool team whip up a great map application… Check your communicator. I added a waypoint to Olivier's office." I could confirm what she said about confusion when it came to this building. I had been here almost two weeks and I only recently learned about the bathrooms on my floor. I kept rushing downstairs for them and then I'd get lost usually on the way back up. I still wasn't one hundred percent sure where the café was either.

The two of us walked over to the elevator and made small talk about this and that before she stopped. I guess I was going to have to fly solo on this one. "Aw, you're just going to leave me like this?" I pretended to whine. She laughed, which was good.

"Come on you've seen pirates in action and you're worried about the boss? Olivier's a nice guy he won't bite." I walked to the elevator and the green light on my communicator flashed in response. But before I pressed it I had to do something.

"Hey, Melanie." She looked over at me. "You know I still don't really know where the café is. How about at lunch you show me?" Obvious flirtation came from my mouth and frankly it was a bit strange. I tried to sound confident and all but in reality it was kind of the truth. She smiled in response, again, good sign.

"I'll see what I can do Ryan."

"I'll take it." As soon as the words came out I hit the button sending me to the top floor. However I was only going for a moment before a voice rang in my ear. "Hello? Hi? Testing, testing. Is this thing working? This is John from IT."

"Oh yeah, I remember. Hey John, what's up?" I hadn't seen much of John, let alone spoken to him since that first day.

"Do you have a minute or… ah dammit. Tracker says you're on your way to Olivier's office." John made a sound of obvious frustration before continuing. "All right, I'll ping you when you're done. I have a favor to ask."

"Yeah, sure John whatever." The line was dead, obviously he was gone. Also he said something about a tracker, could they see where I was all the time? It seemed weird to think about but at the same time this was a very exclusive company. Maybe it was common to keep track of assets. Or maybe it was the communicator. I guess it didn't matter much.

The elevator opened up to the top floor and a long hallway leading to what must have been the office. I walked by a receptionist who just waved me through without any hassle and the doors slid open to Olivier's office. I could hear him speaking with someone but I was far too distracted by how cool his office was to pay attention. I saw him standing on one side of the room and we made eye contact for a moment before he held up a finger to me. I put my communicator down and headed to the far end of the office which had a fantastic view of the city. I tried not to eavesdrop on his conversation but I heard something about the project and I heard Edward's name. From what I could gather it sounded like Olivier was trying to defend the project to someone in charge. After that the only thing that stood out was the name of the person he was speaking to: Laetitia. One I had certainly never heard before. A very unique name. Olivier tapped his ear and I began to approach him.

"Ah, thanks for coming in on such short notice Ryan. I know you're very busy."

"No problem, boss. I was just taking a break anyway." Olivier started to pace his office.

"I was actually looking over some of your data. Pretty raw stuff! Obviously we need to scrub of some dirt to make it more family friendly though. You understand."

"Oh yeah, of course. I've seen some violent things in there."

"Maybe we'll give Edward a voice like James Bond or something. Make him more of a ladies man." Funny, Edward never really came off to me as much of a ladies man. He was still technically married as far as the memories were concerned. But maybe I'm being foolish. Olivier walked over to the balcony I was at earlier and I followed suit. He took in a deep breath. "A beautiful city, no?"

"It's is a sight to behold. Lucky you, getting to work here all the time." I said with enthusiasm. He turned to look right at me.

"So…the main reason I asked you here concerns something called the Observatory. It's been mentioned a few times in your footage." I'm glad someone else noticed. I thought I was crazy hearing everyone say it. A device that could show the location of anyone in the world. Obviously some pirates myth but still it was scary to think about. Olivier continued. "I'd like you to focus on locating this specific set of memories as soon as possible. If it were up to me…I wouldn't bother but some bigwigs at Abstergo Industries have been hounding me for days. So follow whatever leads you find, and hopefully we can a-, oh incoming call I have to take this. We'll keep in touch." And with that he tapped his ear again and to him I was invisible.

"Alright, see you around boss." I walked off and grabbed my communicator. Why would they care about the Observatory? It seems like a stupid thing to focus on. There really couldn't be anything to it, more than superstition. But I guess orders are orders. I began to head out of his office. It wasn't long before the buzzing in my ear started again and John's voice came through. I wondered how he was able to contact me without me actually answering the phone, but thought little of it.

"Hey, Ryan, John again. You got a second? Good I'm adding a waypoint to your map."

"Don't be a dick, John. Sure I can help you. But try asking next time."

"Yeah whatever. So, a colleague of yours left for vacation this morning and forgot to send me a video file she promised me. And since I basically hate everyone else on your floor, I was hoping you could help me."

"What do I need to do?"

"Could you transfer the file from her computer and deliver it to the courier when she comes?" At first the request seemed simple but then I thought about it for a second and something seemed a bit fishy. Before I could say anything though, John continued speaking. "It'll be easy. You just wander over to her Animus, log in, and transfer the file. Easy. And please be snappy before I find a reason to hate you too." I heard a beep, once again signaling he had disconnected. He really was a dick. The waypoint on my communicator lead me to my own floor but to another part I hadn't seen yet. After a very short distance I saw a door. As I got close though it wouldn't open. There was a number one on the door and next to it as well. As soon and I thought about knocking or something the buzzing returned and so did the voice of John.

"A locked door. Not a problem. That's the advantage of me having level one security clearance. Now you do too!"

"Uh, thanks I guess."

"Don't abuse it." Suddenly the door opened. I guess he was right. And now that I think about it I had seen a few security level ones around before. Could I open them now? I guess I could. I walked through and it looked like just another office. The waypoint put me at another persons computer. They had a lot more stuff decorating their desk than I did. It made me a little jealous. "Just log on and I'll walk you through this."

"Are you sure about this John? It seems a little…private."

"Just do it Ryan, you're helping me out." I sighed and sat at the computer and started logging in. The green light on my communicator lit up and I pressed it. Suddenly my screen showed something I hadn't seen yet. There was a circle, or more accurately a sphere containing what looked like data all around. John must have noticed from wherever he must have been watching and started giving me very long and drawn out instructions but it basically amounted to get a light on a white line over to a green line. I found it somewhat exhilarating and scary at the same time. I kept looking over my shoulder expecting security to show up or something but they never did.

After a few minutes I was in. It seemed a long distance to go for a simple video file though. As the data sphere broke up the video that I guess was supposed to be downloaded started playing. I could tell from what showed up on my communicator that the download was finished. John mentioned something about all files I download being protected by some kind of firewall on the com but I decided to check out the video anyway. Least I get from helping him out.

The video was very confusing though. It detailed a post-mortem report for someone called "Desmond Miles" also know as Subject Seventeen… the same number of the sample I was involved in. It had to be a coincidence right? The video continued describing something about a vault and the many things they took from the body, such as blood and personal items. It was over my head but at the very end my suspicion was confirmed when the narrator stated the subject would continue to be researched by Sample 17. Myself.

The video ended and I leaned back in the chair. Something else was bugging me. The name Desmond Miles. Where did I hear it? My thoughts were interrupted by that all too familiar buzzing. Followed of course by John. "You're better at this than I thought. Now zip on down to the lobby, Ryan, come one! By the way the video, I wouldn't recommend watching it. I mean you could but it's rather unpleasant. So once you hand it off, just pretend this never happened okay?"

"Oh, right. No way I'll watch it, not my business after all." As I said that I went into my communicator and quickly made a copy of the file. Just in case.

"Seriously, don't you'll just go to bed feeling sad. Anyway the courier should be waiting downstairs. She's been here a while." I quickly left the room and headed over to the elevator and went immediately down. "I suppose it goes without saying…just because you know how to hack all your colleagues' computers, doesn't mean you should. I mean not every day right? No, seriously though, that's illegal. So don't be a dick. Unless that's just your nature." I reached up to my ear and hung up on John. In truth he was probably already gone but I felt it necessary anyway. I walked across the small bridge and heard two people arguing about coffee. I saw that one girl from my first day who I assumed must have been the courier. As I approached they both turned their attention to me. The guy serving coffee looked at me first.

"Oh, look who's here. So you don't forget after all. You're just incredibly rude, and made poor Rebecca here wait nearly thirty minutes."

"You limey. Be nice." The courier stated.

"Sorry about that. It was an…odd situation." I said without trying to sound annoyed.

"Sorry about him, he's high on his own supply. So how should we do this? Data transfer?"

"Yeah I guess that works." I pulled up my communicator and quickly found a way to send her the file.

"Great! That should do it! We'll e-mail you the receipt. Take care Shaun." The coffee guy must have been Shaun because he responded.

"Bye, bye…Yes bye. Don't expect anymore free coffee. Arrogant! She's great isn't she?" I nodded and then turned away. As I thought about returning to work I finally made the connection that had been bugging me. Melanie had mentioned Desmond being the "generous donor" of the DNA needed for my research but that video suggested they killed him for it, or at least they knew of his death. It was little to go on but enough. Something was going on in this place and I was going to find out. As soon as that thought passed my mind I got an actual call on my phone. "Yes, hello?"

"Hey, Ryan it's Melanie. Still want me to show you the café?" Maybe I could figure it out _after_ lunch. I quickly sped off to where she might be.

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><p>Alright then, another one done. Not much to say except thanks for reading (if you do) and I'd love some constructive critique if you have it.<p> 


	3. Who Can You Trust?

[Insert basically the same description as the last chapter here]

November 29 2013

As the image of Edward standing on that ship with Blackbeard faded from my vision I found I actually felt sad for the both of them. It seemed mid-life crises happen even when someone spends their days as a pirate. I wasn't a very sentimental person but for once I found myself reaching the almost tearing up point. And no one had even died…yet.

Looking through these memories opened my eyes to a lot of things. The words Templar and Assassin were dropped quite often and every time I heard them they confused me. The Templar's were an order of knights back in medieval times and an assassin was, well someone who killed people. With the way they said them it was obvious that there was more going on with them then history had intended people to know. Either these people were crazy or my original theory about people altering history was right.

I would find the truth one way or another. The desire for answers made me work harder the last few days. I hadn't heard from John at all, and I hadn't seen him but the warning he said to me about not hacking everyone's computers. Yeah I ignored that. Every computer on my floor had been hacked by me and some computers that weren't even public access. I would find every excuse in my own head to do it even though in my heart I knew it was wrong. When my co-workers would go to the bathroom or on lunch I would rush over to their computers and hack them really quickly, download the files and watch/look at them later. I had actually become quite fast at it. In the beginning there were some close calls and maybe more unbelievable excuses when they would see me by their desks but so far so good.

However the search had more to it I found. It was two days ago when I found the first blue note. I was walking to my desk and I saw this sticky-note on it. The note was a light blue and contained no words but instead had only a bar code. I asked around but no one knew what it was. Upon scanning the code(yes it seems the communicator also does that) I found some message where somebody was talking about some people who came "before." Before what, I kept asking myself. It wasn't long until I found another and then another. They were all very strange messages that were just around and yet nobody knew who put them. The messages were all very vague but the more I found the pieces started to come together. Not anything solid or anything that made sense but there it was.

Speaking of pieces coming together, the files I'd find from computers painted a very different Abstergo than I had originally signed on for. There were quite a few different kinds of files to find and some I couldn't even begin to understand. One thing was certain though: Desmond was not the "generous donor" I had originally been told about and this project wasn't as black and white as originally intended.

On a less Ryan-going-nuts-and-stalking-co-workers level, I went on a real date with Melanie! After our lunch before I actually asked her out and she agreed. It was difficult for me to contain my excitement at the time but I played it cool and we went out a few days later. Nothing serious of course but it was still fun. She told me about her family and stuff which was cool. She asked me about mine though and I really wish she hadn't. My parents were dead. Killed by some unknown assailant who broke into our house five years ago. That left just my younger brother and me. It was hard to get by after that because he was still in middle school and I was in my first year of college. We had to sacrifice a lot of course but our other family helped us out. Melanie and I really bonded after that and I told her I was pretty much over it. That was really only half-true. The killer was never caught and I guess part of me was still angry. I always wanted revenge in my deepest thoughts but I tried to suppress that desire. My little brother wasn't as easy to calm.

The ringing in my ears interrupted my moment of thought, not like I have a job or anything. "Hey, Ryan." It was Melanie's voice. Sweet. "Do you have a minute? I'm on my way upstairs."

"Yeah I got time, what's up?"

"Olivier wanted to talk with us about putting a trailer together using some of the footage you've been recording this past month." I actually liked the sound of that. Some of the stuff I'd seen would make an awesome movie.

"Really? That's pretty sweet, I'm in."

"I'm glad. Take your time, I'll meet you by the elevator." The line went off after that and I got up and gathered my stuff. Maybe faster than I usually would and I walked over to the elevator.

Not long after, I approached the elevator and saw her standing by it already. She waved me over with a smile and I picked up the pace a bit. "Are you ready? He's waiting for us."

"I was born ready. I always loved movie trailers and this is like making one myself!" The two of us walked into the elevator and I pressed the button on the communicator and the elevator went up.

"I just watched some of your footage from this week. It's amazing. Blackbeard was mental!" I agreed with what she was saying but as soon as she mentioned his name I got a little sad again. He was a guy trying to make to do what he felt was right but was getting far to caught up in his won madness to do anything about it. It took me a moment to realize she was still talking. "…talking about this idea for a trailer about him. Maybe start with him drinking, talking to some pirates, telling a story…" He talking admittedly dragged on for most of the way up. I was into it but it was obvious she wanted this to be her baby. She had all these ideas she kept bouncing off of me which inevitably ended in a poorly placed joke about pirates which I laughed at, more because it was bad than good.

"So, when can I see you again?" There had been a moment of silence and I had to take it.

"You're seeing me right now, silly." Oh I forgot she was a comedian.

"You're funny. But seriously, when?" She stared for a moment before a response came.

"How do you feel about dancing?"

"Uh, it's cool I guess. I'm not really into the dirty stuff myself. I'm more of a traditional type. Waltzing and junk like that." She raised an eyebrow at me. Obviously inquiring about my statement. The elevator opened at the top floor.

"We'll talk about it later." That was fair I guess. Melanie walked over to the receptionist and greeted her in French. I really needed to learn it; I was starting to feel really left out. "I hope we're not late."

"No, you can go right—," A voice came over the loudspeaker in the room.

"Hi, Melanie, I saw you just walked in. I need a few minutes with you alone. Laetitia's on the phone and we are discussing the Kenway project."

"Oh, yes of course. Sorry about this Ryan, I'll call you when we're ready." I nodded and she walked away.

"Shouldn't be long." The receptionist assured me. I waited around for a second but as if on some kind of cue I felt my ear buzz and a voice I didn't want to hear came though.

"Hello, hellooooooo. Do you have a second? Of course you do. Head to the waypoint on your map. I have another job for you." John. Of course it would be him again. I walked away from the receptionist and whispered into my ear.

"Are you serious? Another job? What's the deal this time?" In truth I didn't really want to do it but while I had my suspicions before about what he wanted me to do I realized I could have been over thinking it a little bit. So I decided I'd help him out again… to a point.

"I'd like to link all the cameras in the building to a central monitoring system but most aren't calibrated correctly."

"I see." I was suspicious still but that sounded innocent enough so I followed the waypoint down a side hallway and down some stairs until I reached a door. This one marked with a number 2, showing its clearance level.

"Another locked door. Not a problem." There was a moments pause before the inevitable happened. "Voila! You now have level 2 security clearance. Not bad for your first few weeks. I'll update your communicator."

"Thanks John…I guess." The waypoint led me to another side room and when I walked in I could see that I was in the some kind of camera control room. The cameras obviously giving that one away. The camera consol lit up like all the rest and I pressed the green button. Hacking was about to commence. I wish I felt worse about this but if I helped him then I could hack more of the computers around and that seemed worth it to me.

The screen that appeared was different than before, a different mechanism was required it seemed and John went through explaining this one as well. It was a little more difficult to understand but eventually I got the gist of it. As soon as I solved it the cameras on screen all blacked out for a moment. When they returned it took a second for me to realize I was looking at the meeting going on between Melanie and the boss! "It works!" I heard John yell into my ear. But then the audio from the meeting came on and I couldn't help but listen. The voice was one I had never heard before but it was a woman's.

"…and if we want information on Assassin's or Templars or the Observatory. Or whatever the fuck else interests us, Olivier, you will deliver it. Full stop."

"Aha. I understand that Laetitia, I'm sorry if that came out wrong. We're not trying to bottleneck here. But we just don't have the resources right now to do two times the research." Olivier was the responder and that woman he was talking to did not sound very happy.

"Finding the balance is your priority. Your entertainment products are simply a means to pay the bills for larger and more important work. That's the way the world works, hm? Dirty money buys clean hospitals. You get it?" I didn't know who this Laetitia was but she sure was a bitch. The conversation continued. This time Melanie responded.

"We're on-board, Laetitia, rest assured. We have our best employee working on this. But it will take time."

"That means you." The voice came from John who had decided to interject despite me trying to listen.

"Good. And thank you. The both of you. I look forward to seeing what you deliver. Until then see you at the shareholders meeting, Olivier."

"Looking forward to it. Bye, bye." Olivier closed the line and he sat there for a second, obviously trying to cool down. "Tabernak! It's a little too early for that kind of abuse. Come on." He and Melanie stood up from the table and began to walk towards the door.

"So…what's next?" Melanie asked. Olivier stopped and looked around.

"We do as the lady says. Focus on the observatory." After that the screen went dark again. Then once again resumed its usual functions. I took a deep breath and began to walk out of the room.

"Assassin's, Templar's…crazy talk." John of course gave me no time to process before speaking to me again though. "I'm curious about this shareholders meeting though. How about you break into Olivier's office and see if you can find his schedule?" What did he just ask me to do?

"Are you crazy, John? No way in hell I'm doing that! That's against the law."

"Oh, what? You don't like that idea? How about I blow the fucking whistle on you, hacker! I own you!" And now his true colors came out. From this moment on, John was my enemy. Unfortunately he was right. Knowing him he probably has everything I'd done recorded. He could go anywhere with that and I'd be done for life. "What I mean is…I don't want to ruin your life. So do as I say."

"Wow, John. You really are a dick." The waypoint had of course changed and I followed it down another hall. At the end of it lied an open side of the building one that looked like it was under construction.

"Now, step over to the window." As soon as he said that one of those pulley things painters used to paint building came down and its door opened. I guess I was needed to get on it. Which I did. "You can't waltz into Olivier's office through the front door, so I've opened up another route. I know you like waltzing though so I'm sorry." I shouldn't be surprised but yet still I was.

"You're listening to my conversations now?!"

"Melanie's a sweet girl I get it. Lucky you. Anyway up we go." The lift began to move on its way up to the office but John couldn't even let me have that in piece. "Did you know that Abstergo was run by Templar's? Oh yes. Sounds like crackpot stuff, I know. But then again, the moon landing was faked right? So anything's possible."

"Okay, I'm going to ignore that last part because that's a whole different beast to deal with but what do you mean Templar's run Abstergo? Like that old knight order? And those weird dudes in the memories?"

"All in good time Ryan, my friend. But first to business." The lift stopped at the top floor and I stepped off. I walked over to the terrace on the edge of Olivier's office but I hesitated to enter.. "All right…either you walk thorough that door, or throw yourself off the terrace. Those are your options." Is it wrong I considered the second option for a moment? I took a deep breath and walked thorough the door. Plus if I died no one would learn of John's treachery. And justice would not be served. "Well done kiddo. Find his computer. Make it snappy."

"You're going to pay for making me do this John. I'll make sure of it." He said nothing in return as I looked for the computer. He was confident, I'd give him that much. After a minute I found the computer.

"We're looking for the shareholders meeting schedule. It's worth a lot of money to us." I wondered who the "us" referred to but at this point it didn't really matter. The light came on and I did my thing.

Only a few moments later I was in and I began downloading the file…as well as another one that was on there. It seemed interesting, so sue me. Which actually had the potential to happen now that I think of it. "You sneaky bastard. A pirate through and through, aren't ya?"

"Yeah I'm a regular buccaneer. Piracy is my side job after all."

"Congratulations to you, Ryan. Anyway get down to the lobby, the couriers waiting. That's right, I've been planning this for hours." Of course. Once again he gets me to meet the courier. Should've seen that coming. I walked over to the regular doorway but stopped when I saw the receptionist still at the desk. "Now wait, the receptionist. Hold on, I'll try something." I looked away and back out the terrace. I didn't want to know what he might do so I waited. Eventually the door opened and I walked out. The receptionist wasn't there. Whatever he did it worked. "Now hurry. Before I remotely detonate you earpiece." Bastard! He certainly wasn't playing any games. As long I worked here. John owned me and I'd have to do his bidding. I rushed out and headed towards the elevator.

I wanted to tell someone, maybe someone would get it. But I'd have to expose myself to do so. I had no clue how to proceed. "Don't even think about ratting me out. My tracks are covered. Yours aren't." I didn't argue and I set the elevator to go down to the lobby.

Once I got down there I came across a very familiar scene, The courier and the coffee stand dude were chatting about whatever before they noticed my approach.

"Ah, hurray. It's our old friend." The coffee guy said.

"Screw you coffee dude. I don't need your smart mouth today. Let's just get on with it shall we?" I pulled up the communicator and sent her the file. She thanked me and walked off. I began to but I stopped and turned back to the coffee guy. "Hey, sorry about that pal. I overreacted. Bad day." He gave me a look of contempt and just nodded. I turned and left. Or at least started to. The buzzing came just about on schedule and John's voice rang thorough.

"Well done, friend. Very well done. Apologies for my temper tantrum back there. You are with the good guys I promise. We'll keep you safe. Trust me. Go on back to work we'll be in touch." Trusting him was the last thing I was going to do. However I did have to thank him for one thing. Now I had more access and the more access I had the more I could hack. The more I could hack, the more I could find. Silver-lining I guess. And he also confirmed my suspicions about the Assassin's and Templar's. Both still existed but in what form I still had to find out. My earpiece made a noise but an actual ring this time and I heard the soothing voice of Melanie when I answered.

"Hey, Red. What's up?"

"Just checking what happened to you? The meeting ended and you were gone."

"Oh right that. Well I uh… ate something really bad at lunch today and I had to make an emergency bathroom trip. Let's just leave it at that."

"Ah, I see. Anyway you mentioned wanting to hang out again. I know a place we could go. One of my favorite spots." After today, I would take anything.

"Sounds good, I'm in."

"I hope you bring your best with that waltz though. I would like to see it."

Alright, chapter three is done. Not too long now. Anyway, I'd love so reviews about how I can make it better so feel free to leave some.


	4. Control

Alright, after this there will be only one chapter remaining. If anyone is reading this, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do writing it.

December 13 1013

Coming out of the Animus was different this time. I noticed that much right away. First of all, I was angry. I guess I should say _still _angry. Part of it was due to seeing Roberts take Edward into custody back in the memories and truthfully I was still angry about John. Yes it was two weeks ago but I didn't enjoy being used. I remember feeling the same anger I felt when I found out my parents were killed. A sense of dread combined with some anguish. But also justice. That word had always appealed to me and that was what I wanted to get. Justice. It felt dramatic but I did swear John would pay. Still working on that part.

The second reason getting out was strange was that as soon as I removed my headset I felt something extremely sharp pierce my neck. For a moment I thought I was being stabbed with a hidden blade. I had certainly seen Edward do it to enough people but then I remembered that I wasn't living in the Golden Age of Pirates. Sometimes the two places started to blend together in weird ways.

After the initial pain I tried to come up with various reasons as to what it could be but my thoughts became very jumbled and I suddenly got very tired. Soon enough I was out cold.

As I came to the first thing I noticed was that I wasn't at my desk anymore. My vision was blurry but I could tell I was in a different room. It was small almost like a cheap apartment but decked out with luxurious furniture and Abstergo symbols. I tried standing and while I managed to get up I stumbled and barely saved myself by grabbing a nearby table. "What the hell…" I muttered to myself as I looked around. It took me a moment but my vision eventually cleared and I was able to stand up straight. My first thought was that I had been abducted or something but the Abstergo logo's said that at the very least I was being held by the company. Which I guess was comforting. Sort of. My next thought was that they must have found out about my hacking! _Then_ I started to panic.

My short panic burst was promptly interrupted by my earpiece ringing. Can't they let a guy panic in piece?! I hesitated to answer but decided to just go for it anyway. I didn't say anything, instead I clicked it and waited. "Hello," It was Melanie. "Ryan? How are you?" I waited before I responded and for the first time I noticed the giant T.V. in the room. It showed a picture of Melanie and various data strewn across the screen. And then it didn't. The data disappeared as soon as I noticed it and I rubbed my eyes just to be sure I wasn't seeing things. Still gone. "Ryan, are you there?" I forgot she was speaking to me.

"Yeah, I'm here. I assume you're going to tell me what's going on?" She waited a moment as well.

"If you're anxious, that'll pass. It's the Midazolam." I don't know if knowing the name made it any better but from the tone of her voice I feel like she's trying to be genuine with me.

"That's great, Red. Midazolam. I'll try it again sometime." I used the most mocking sarcastic voice I could muster. It wasn't a voice I liked using.

"I'm sorry about this, but…we've had so many security breaches, we were forced to take drastic action. And Olivier is missing. He left for Chicago two days ago… but no one's seen him since." As soon as she said that I felt terrible. It was my fault. I imagined all of my coworkers locked up in boxes like this one because I just had to go and hack all those computers. I guess it could also be John, he hacked plenty. But now that I think of it he was never seen. I did all that stuff. And then Olivier was missing?! I thought it strange I hadn't seen him but I never thought much of it. And the worst thing was, I remembered reading about this in the contract! I saw it but thought it was whatever and didn't even ask. So everything here was legal.

"Don't worry, Red. It's cool. I know how things work." She paused. Maybe surprised at how accepting I was.

"I know this seems excessive, Ryan, but with our high-level security clearance, we have an obligation to our share-holders. Rest assured we will compensate you when the hacker is found." _Oh I doubt that._ Maybe I would get off with a warning if I returned the data or something but I didn't have any immediate plans. I was screwed. "Hey, Ryan." I focused my attention. "Get some rest okay. And maybe get some more footage. You're doing some amazing work. I can't wait to show you what we've got cooking. Take care. And maybe, if you want I can come visit you later?" I cracked a smile, Melanie really cared it seemed.

"Sure, Red. I'd like that." With that she hung up and the screen went blank. I thought about taking a nap, I was tired but as sure as the sun was to rise I heard the buzzing in my ear and that only meant one thing.

"So! They tossed you in a bunker. Nice! Those Templars upstairs aren't taking any chances." My fists clenched and I started to grind my teeth.

"John." That was all I could get out before he continued to ramble.

"I think we need to erase all the dirt they have on you." I released my grip and waited a second. I wanted to question why he'd help me now but before I could I heard a beeping on my communicator. "Did you hear that? I think I just gave you level 3 security clearance!" I was shocked with no clue what to say. I picked up the communicator and started walking out of the room. The light on the door turned green and opened eight up. "Now, head to the security room and use the cameras to watch the door to the server farm. Unfortunately Melanie's in there now, so when I escort her out, that's when you make your move. Ryan? Ryan! Say something would you? Where's your 'screw you' give me something."

"What should I say John? Should I thank you? You got me into this mess so that wouldn't make much sense. I could say 'screw you' and believe me I want to, but then the job would still need to get done. I'm not sure how to process anything you're telling me. I'm sure you're setting me up somehow, but if you aren't I actually might be able to keep my job. So I don't know, for now I'll just do what you say. This changes nothing." John waited a moment before he responded.

"Look Ryan, I know I dragged you around for a while but I actually do want to help you this time. Hell I'd do this part myself but as the head of IT I'd be a suspect. Better to risk someone who's already locked up." That only fueled my anger but the plan made sense in a weird way. I kept walking down the strange hallways, directed only by the waypoint John once again set on my communicator. I walked for a while until he spoke again. "Oh these Templars. They run our lives you know?"

"No, I don't know actually."

"Yeah, they control everything really, elections, money, everything you can imagine."

"And how exactly do they do that?"

"We'll have time for that later. You're almost at the farm. Speaking of which, I'm entering the server room. When you see us leave, get in there." I walked through a level three door and into another room full of cameras. Which of course I had to hack. Same basic formula as the last one so I handled it fairly quickly. Swiftly enough I was watching a camera feed of the two of them in a hallway together, mid conversation. "…there's no need for you to be down here by yourself Miss Lemay. My team will handle the investigation." John had began.

"But you need an extra set of eyes on this thing John. We don't even know how the hackers got in. It could take weeks to go through this data." _Oh if only you knew, Red._ I thought to myself.

"One at most." John retorted.

"Still too long. I can't keep my team locked up for a week!"

"Legally you can. It's what they signed up for even if they didn't read their contracts. Plus you and I both know this isn't just about the team. You're worried about our dear friend, Mr. Arken." Melanie waited a moment. I found myself curious about how she would respond to that actually. We had continued talking these last few weeks but I had been wary of her as well. Like everyone here I wasn't sure if I could trust her so things weren't going too smoothly.

"Yes, of course but it's about the others as well. Never mind, what's the next step?

"My team is processing the data now. We'll start sifting through it tonight. Scouts honor. Coffee's on me, okay?" As soon as John said that he walked off with Melanie shrugging a moment before following after.

I left the console and began to backtrack the way I came. Somehow my waypoint had been updated and I started to follow it to a new location. After a minute the buzzing in my ear returned. "All right. I ditched her at the coffee stand. Find the server containing the network logs. Since I have a record of each and every one of your hacks, we'll just search for the timestamps on those, and turn that data into something harmless. Easy as that.

"You have a record of," I gulped in my throat. "Every single one?"

"Oh yes, Ryan. Every single time you've hacked into one of those computers. I've seen it all. Everything." I clenched my teeth and was about to respond but as I entered the doorway into the server room I lost my voice. It was an impressive room after all. There was a long hallway with a console at the very end of it. The sides were lined in multiple blue lights that gathered collective data. Or at least I assumed that was what that was. As I walked through it I saw the walls stretching on for what seemed like forever even though I knew that was impossible. When I got close to the console the buzzing returned. "Here we are! Beautiful. I'll update your communicator one more time. A little program I cooked up just for this occasion." There was a moments pause. "There we go. I think that worked. Try it out!" I waited a second, almost making a decision to not go through with it. Something in my head just kept screaming, _Don't!_ But I wanted to keep my job and get a clean slate and this was the only way. I pressed the button on my communicator and began the hacking.

For such a secure system, the hacking was pretty rudimentary, at least compared to the others. It took a bit longer than usual but I eventually broke through the wall and I was in. I saw an image I was unfamiliar with, it was a blue circle connected by a line to an orange triangle. Both objects had words that made no sense, almost like the names of different routers. I pressed another button and the screen went dark. After another moment the screen on my communicator changes to what looked like an old movie. You know with the circle of numbers counting down from five? The image quickly dissolved into a voice-over by some guy talking about the golden age of pirates. It took me a second to realize it was a trailer for my work! I was really excited all of the sudden especially at the end when they named off the pirates I had encountered from back them. Benjamin Hornigold, Calico Jack, Charles Vane, and Blackbeard! Wait weren't they missing someone? The trailer ended with me staring back at myself in the reflection of the dark screen. Edward wasn't even mentioned. If I ever had any doubt that something sinister was happening at Abstergo, I didn't any longer. These guys were tampering with history.

I kept staring down at the screen trying to think of something to say. Say to who I didn't know but to something. Part of me wanted to screen however I didn't know why. My thoughts raced but then I heard something strange. "I can feel you cipher," I yelped and jumped back and as I looked up I yelped again. Staring at me was a face, a digitized face of a woman. I couldn't really make out any features in particular, it was a very creepy looking face though. She kept talking. "Feel, but hardly touch. The signal is still too weak, and I am spread to thin." I was at a loss for words and I kept looking around the room for the sight of anybody, but every time I looked away, the face appeared before my eyes. "Unfocused. Like static and fog, lingering in networks and nodes, the nervous system of the world." The face paused its speak but before I could say anything I heard a buzzing in my ear, followed by John's voice.

"Can you hear her?" He said.

"Yeah, I can! John, what is this? What's going on?!" He didn't answer and I was scared. The face continued talking.

"Perhaps the Temple was opened too soon. But this was not by choice. The cataclysm pushed all doubt aside." The face stopped for a second and changed to a face of…sadness? I couldn't tell. It was just too unclear. "Ah…we bless poor Desmond, who gave his life so that you, the Children of our Labors would live on. To fulfill your purpose in ours. In mine" What the hell was she talking about?! What Temple, what purpose? That name, Desmond, again. Something here was far beyond me and it felt like I was the only one who could tell.

"But now is not the time. My strength is not sufficient to inhabit a mortal vessel. There is more to do, more samples to acquire, more artifacts to find, before my will may obtain." The face continued, seemingly unaware I had no idea what she was talking about.

"What's happening? Tell me!" John's voice interrupted again.

"Make me whole again, my children. My instruments. Bring me forth to fulfill you purpose."

"Tell me, Ryan!" The face stared at me for another moment. Into my soul it seemed before fading away into pixels. "No, no, no. Something's wrong. God dammit!"

"What the hell are you talking about, John?" He seemingly ignored my question.

"She should be here! Now! Living in that god dammed head of yours." I had never heard him so furious before. I didn't know what to do so I started to run back to my room. Nowhere else to go anyway. John wasn't done though. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! Why did she spare you? Why are you still here?!"

"John, tell me what's happening! Who was that face? Why did she want to take over my body or whatever? Answer me!" Nothing. Typical.

I eventually made it back to my room and I immediately sat down on my bead and took a deep breath. What was happening? I didn't even know where to begin. I laid back completely, unable to process what just happened. Like most other times I try to ponder something, my earpiece began ringing to interrupt me. Don't know why I hadn't pulled it out yet. I pressed the button. "Hello?"

"Hey, bro. What's up?" The voice was one I hadn't heard since I started this job. The voice of my younger brother, William.

"Will? It feels like it's been ages!"

"It has, Ryan, it has. How are you?" The conversation went back and forth like that. Small talk for what seemed like a long time. It was good to hear from him, I'm sure it wasn't easy back home. He told me about work, bagging groceries. Less glamorous than my job but still. At the end of the conversation he brought up one last point. "One last thing, Ryan. I was wondering if you'd mind if I joined an MMA gym. Their opening one over here and I think it might be good for me. It might help with my problem." The problem her referred to was anger. He had anger issues ever since our parents died. He had gone to so many treatments but none worked long term.

"Or it might make it worse. What if you hurt someone?"

"I won't I just need to work off some steam by hitting something. Or someone, that's all." Truthfully I wanted to protest but I was too tired and frankly I didn't have the patience.

"Sure, man. Just go for it. Be careful though. Don't make me regret it."

"Thanks so much, Ryan. Your money will be put to good use I swear." He hung up the phone after that. I felt my eyelids grow heavy and was about to sleep when I heard a knock on my door. The door opened without me actually having to touch it and through it walked Melanie. I wanted to get up but I just didn't. We made eye contact and I smiled at her without saying anything.

"Hey, there," She said. "You weren't asleep were you?"

"No, about to be but not quite. Any luck on the hacker?" I cursed in my head. I really wanted to tell her. Everything actually but I just couldn't. She walked over to my desk and rolled my chair over to me and sat on it.

"John's working on it," _I bet he is_. I thought. "But I didn't come to talk about work. How are you holding up?" I waved away her question.

"Red, stop worrying about me. I read the contract I know what you have to do."

"Very well then. Anyway the real reason I'm here…" She walked over to my desk again and placed her communicator upright on it. She messed with some of it I couldn't see and all of the sudden I heard music coming from it. I couldn't place my finger on the exact song but I knew it was Bach. Within moments classical music filled the room and she turned back to me. "I know you cancelled going dancing before but I thought now might be the time to try it." I tilted my head and noticed her face had become as red as her hair.

"You want to dance? Now? Here?"

"Come on, I learned some moves for you. I know you like the waltz so…" She held out her hand. I had to take it, I was too curious. I got up from bed and took her hand. It took a moment for me to correct her hand placement on me and me to place mine where they go but we were laughing about it. Blame the semester of college where I was missing a credit which lead me to take a ballroom dancing class.

It took a few more moments but we eventually got in the groove. There weren't many words shared but in a way they didn't need to be. We were having fun. But I did have a wonder. "So, Red, why learn all this just for me? I mean we're just coworkers who went on a few dates." The question was a bit too on the nose but I was sick of John's double talk. I could use some straight answers. She looked away from me but we kept dancing.

"Maybe I want us to be…more than that." I started to say something but I really had no idea what I should say. As I was contemplating it Melanie moved her hands from my shoulders to the back of my neck. Then she pulled me in for a kiss. It was awkwardly placed and frankly I didn't even close my eyes. But it did teach me one thing. Maybe there was someone here I could trust. For some reason despite the situation I felt something sincere. Maybe that was all I needed.

Upon further research I found that in terms of the game Melanie actually is married so this goes a bit against that. However it doesn't really matter so I don't know why I mentioned it. The final chapter will be out soon.


	5. and Possibility

Okay, final chapter so let's just get it going. A lot of this will be original content and maybe a surprise ending that hopefully does justice to the character of Ryan.

* * *

><p><strong>December 15, 2013<strong>

And just like that, it was all over. I had been brought to the end of Edward's journey. I was sad, really I was. I had grown pretty attached to these characters of history but the job was finished. I had never given much thought to what I would do now. Would they give me more assignments? Or was this a one-time gig? I took off my visor and replaced them with my glasses. I then took a deep breath and turned. And then all of the sudden I was back in Edward's time. No, that wasn't it exactly. There was a man in front of me, a man Edward had killed. Roberts. "Wakey, wakey, Ryan! I don't think we've been formally introduced…not in this era anyway."

"John?" I had never seen his face, but I knew the voice too well. I almost couldn't believe it. He had the same exact handlebar moustache. The same exact brown skin, and the same exact green and gold eye. "How are you—,"

"No time for questions friend. I wish I could explain all this strangeness but there isn't much time. The short of it is, you saw my beloved Juno. And for a brief moment I thought she might occupy this tender body of yours. But something went wrong. And now she's back out there. Adrift." I knew he must have been talking about the digitized woman from two days ago. What did he call her? Juno? I wasn't about to sit here and let John do whatever he was going to do though. I decided to take action. I stood up right in his face.

"Look, John," I grabbed his collar. "You'd better start explaining this! What is going on?" He smiled the same sinister smile Roberts always had. I still couldn't believe what this meant. John was the Sage. A man who is reincarnated every generation. They said it in the memories but I scarcely believed it.

John broke my hold with ease and without even a moments hesitation landed a punch right to my face, sending me back down into the chair. It was fast and I could already feel my busted lip. "Don't interrupt me, Ryan! You see Juno was magnificent once. A race of beautiful, wonderful creatures. They created your kind. Did you know that? Your people were tools to them. That's all you have ever been. That's all you should ever be!" In a way, what he was saying made some sense. The way the face spoke to me as if I was an object, or I guess a tool as it were. "One day soon, I hope. For the world is nearly ready for her return! Wired. Prepared for a second coming."

There was a knock on the door as soon as he finished. John gasped and looked back. But his grin returned shortly as he looked back at me. "Uh oh. Here they come. Those Templars. Or maybe the Assassin's this time. Idiots, all of them." John then reached into his pocket and grabbed a syringe. He started to try and inject it but I grabbed the arm first. As if it mattered. With his other hand he grabbed my wrist and twisted it almost to the point of breaking. I screamed from the pain but he didn't even flinch. He injected the needle and then released his grip. I started to feel very weak immediately. "I envy you! It was her wish that I be here to greet her. It was her experiment that made it possible for my rebirth as one of these…things." Then the door exploded.

My reaction was too slow and I almost didn't even register it in time and a shard of glass flew right at me. John and I fell to the floor with a grunt and security guards quickly made their way inside the room. "Get down on your back. Now!" One of the guards yelled. My ears were ringing and I couldn't even move. There was more dialog but I couldn't understand it. My head was swimming too much. John was yelling something, to me maybe or to Juno I guess before turning back to the guards. John reached into his belt and grabbed what I was sure was a gun before two loud bags and the splatter of blood timed his death. At least in this era it seemed. John's body fell next to mine and the guards moved over to check his vitals. Don't know why, they shot him in the head. "Check the victim." I heard from one guard. Then I looked up and Melanie running over to me.

"Ryan, are you okay?! Can you hear me? Talk to me, are you alright?" Then I passed out.

I woke up in an office that wasn't my own. I saw Melanie come into view but everything else was fuzzy. She looked over at me and smiled. "There you are. Thank God!" She ran over and hugged me. "Can you stand?" I shook my head, I couldn't find words yet. Melanie extended her hand and I took it to help myself rise. After I was up I started to try and walk. I was a little wobbly but she helped me stay up. "A doctor came by, said there was nothing to worry about. Apparently the liquid in the syringe was far below a lethal dosage." I rubbed my eyes and was able to choke out some words.

"Well I guess that's…comforting." She sighed.

"I feel terrible about this. About everything. All our evidence pointed to you being the hacker, but it was John all along. God the things we found on his computer." Now I know my head was still fuzzy but for them to say John was guilty gave me a sore taste in my mouth. So all along he was playing me against him for the sake of this, Juno. Did he always intend for it to go like this? I guess I would never know. "Whatever you need, we'll provide. You've done some amazing work, Ryan. Speaking of which, our trailer is finished. Would you like to see it? I owe you that much." I managed to croak out a yes before she started to pull it up on a computer.

The trailer was standard stuff. Cheesy voiceover and footage from my exploits. But I noticed that this one actually had Edward in it. I guess in this way he was a pirate and they were just using that but I don't know. As the trailer ended Melanie stood up and looked right at me. She didn't say anything but instead just grabbed my forearm and squeezed. She then sat back down and got to work. Nothing to say then but I thought I should at least sit down at my old desk. I then proceeded to wobble out of the room.

Halfway there I heard and ringing in my ear. For half a second I thought it would be John but that would be impossible now. I hoped. I turned and looked through Melanie's window and saw that it wasn't her calling so I just picked up. "Hello?"

"Ahhh, and well. What now?" The voice was unknown to me but it had an English accent.

"Talk you idiot. Look at the light." A different voice this time. A woman. Both sounded somewhat familiar.

"Isn't that the battery? I think that's the battery. Hello? Hello?"

"Yes, who is this?" I responded.

"Ah! Sorry about this. My name is Shaun. And back there is Rebecca…my partner in crime."

"Hello." The second voice said.

"Uh ,hi I guess."

"Bloody good work earlier. Honestly I mean it. Delivering us all that data. It's really too bad our man on the inside was a such a uh…how should I say it? Fanatic? Fanatic is the best word I suppose." Then I realized who they were.

"Oh, you guys are those freaks I delivered the data to. And the guy works at the coffee stand, right."

"Yep that's us. We take who we can get!" Rebecca responded.

"Exactly, well put. We saw in John an opportunity to burrow deeper into Abstergo's cloud servers, and I'm not ashamed to say we took it. Not realizing of course that he was enlisting you for help him. And of course to blame if anything went wrong. I suppose it worked out quite nicely in the end. Most of it anyway."

"You think _this _worked out nicely? I was manipulated into stealing from my own company!"

"Calm down, Ryan. What Shaun really wants to say is… if you're up for more hacking, we are too. John gave you level 3 security clearance so if you want maybe you can get us more data? We can pay you of course! And plus, you'll be helping out the Assassins. We need all the help we can get to stop the Templars and Abstergo." For a moment I considered it. I imagined myself doing more hacking, finding out all of the worlds dirty little secrets and using them against my company. I thought of all the adventures I had experienced in the Animus. All the things that Edward did, and all the things that the Templars did that were horrible. And I wanted to say yes.

But then I thought of John. And then I thought of my parents. John was able to do as he wished because the Assassins give people the freedom to choose their actions. And my parents who were dead because someone chose to kill them. The Templars wouldn't have let that happen. People like John and my parents murderer wouldn't have even had the opportunity to make the decisions they made. And then I made a decision that seemed drastic but for a pure moment in time I had to do what I felt.

"What if I say no?" I asked the two of them. "What if working for the Assassins is not the choice I make? What if I choose the opposite?" There was a pause.

"Why would you make that choice? You've seen what Abstergo has done. John told us the videos you've seen, the research you've done." She was right. Ever since I got level 2 I've seen things I wish I hadn't. I've seen the other ancestors of Desmond, what they've done, and the way that Abstergo has manipulated people into doing their bidding but yet I couldn't turn away. I couldn't hate them for it because the smallest part of me truly believed in their end goal.

A perfect society where there is no war, no one starves, and there is no murder. I had made my choice already and I intended to follow through.

"Because I choose to, and a man does what he wants doesn't he?" With that I hung up the phone. I turned back to Melanie's office and walked through her door. She looked up with a puzzling look but said nothing. "Hey, Red, dinner tonight?" A simple question but I had a plan. She raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, sure Ryan. What are you in the mood for?"

"Any chance there's a Chinese place around here? I've been craving some."

"Yeah sure, I know a small place but it's a little…ah never mind. Can we eat at my place though? I don't really like the area." I didn't know what that meant but right now I didn't care.

"Alright, it's a date. See you after work." I left quickly and went back to my desk. There were now figurines strewn all over due to my successes but I wasn't focused on that. I sat down and stared at my own reflection. _I have to do this._ Why did I have to do what I was thinking? I don't know but I was so sure. You know when you have something you're certain of? That was this.

Later that night I arrived on Melanie's doorstep. I had certainly never been there before and I was quite shocked by what I saw. It was essentially a house disguised as an apartment, if that makes any sense. It was huge and I wondered what it was like living there alone. I rang the doorbell and there was no answer. I waited a moment. Was I early? I looked at my watch and found out that's exactly what I was. We had made plans to eat dinner at 8 and here I was at 7:30. I guess I was excited. Eventually she opened the door. She was wearing what looked like gym attire and was breathing heavily. She also happened to be covered in sweat. "Oh, Ryan you're uh…early." She started messing with her hair, trying to fix its messed up format.

"Yeah, sorry I was taking care of something back at home and I guess I kind of forgot about the time and just came over. Do you want me to like uh…head out and be back in half an hour or…"

"No, no, no come on in," She opened the door and guided me in. The apartment was even more impressive on the inside. It was covered in some of the most beautiful paintings I had ever seen. There was wood flooring that lead my path inside with really nice white furniture signaling a dining room to my left. There was also a T.V. in there. In front of me was a kitchen with one of those glass tables.

"Damn, Red this place is awesome! I guess Abstergo treats its people well."

"Think this is impressive? You should see some of the others. Olivier's place is like Heaven on earth. Anyway I'm going to go shower and change. The food should be here soon, there's the cash on the table if they show up. Be a doll and get it if they do."

"For sure, Red." She walked up and kissed me on the cheek before she ran into another room. The sound of running water soon filled my ears. I walked over to the table and pulled out the communicator I brought with me. It had become so natural to keep it by my side now. It also contained all the information I had gathered since I started at Abstergo. The last two days had been painstaking for me as I had attempted to compile all the data I had gathered. I'm surprised no one noticed it but I had made notes and strewn them throughout the office I was stuck in and made all the connections I possibly could.

I finally figured out all I could about the Templars and Assassins. The Assassins were some kinds of peace keepers that want humanity to find enlightenment or something through freedom but the Templars wish to control people so they can stop conflict. And I intended to confront Melanie about all of it.

I started to walk around the apartment and observed all the landscape paintings. They were quite beautiful. I took pictures with my phone of some for later. I wandered around a bit more and found the workout room where I guess Melanie had been working out before. I also found the bathroom but as soon as I got close I felt like a pervert so I turned away from that. She was still showering anyway. Eventually the doorbell rang and I picked up the cash to pay for the food. I paid for the food and began to set it up on her table. I smiled when I opened one box and it contained Orange Chicken, Beef and Rice. My favorite food from China. Her box contained food I hadn't seen before and I didn't even want to try and pronounce what it might be. After a few more minutes of me waiting around Melanie returned. She had changed from her workout clothes to much different ones. She wore black full-leg stockings with a grey skirt. She complemented it with a grey t-shirt. It was simple attire, which was good because I looked a little sloppy in my green collared shirt and black jeans.

"Good the foods here, shall we begin?"

"Please. I'm starving." She sat at the table opposite me and we started eating almost immediately. We made small talk for a while before I brought up anything specific. I wanted to confront her about something but I still cared for her. "So I noticed all those paintings you have around the house. You're quite the collector."

"Yep, I have something of an obsession. Especially landscape shots. Sunsets, sunrises, cloudy days, all of it."

"Well they look great. I am an art simpleton so everything looks good to me." She smiled at me.

"In that case would you like to hear a secret?" She whispered as if someone else was around.

"Whatever you want to share." _Like how your organization is corrupt._ She stood up and took a walk over to another part of her apartment. After a moment she returned with another painting.

"What do you think of this one?" I adjusted my glasses and tried to examine it. I was easily recognizable as the Abstergo building we both worked in. The sunset cascaded behind it and it showed silhouettes walking back and forth through the building. It was a beautiful painting. As I looked at it, I kept getting distracted by Melanie, who kept getting an uncomfortable look on her face. I tried to ignore it and kept staring at the painting.

"This is amazing. Something special about it?" Melanie posed in a showgirl kind of manner.

"I painted it." Was she serious?

"Really?! Red, it's amazing. How'd you learn to do it?"

"My dad painted a bunch when I was younger. He made me follow in his footsteps. Claimed I was the 'only artistic soul' in the Lemay household. My brothers were always jealous but I loved every second of it."

"It's cool to see you so confident about it. A lot of people would try to downplay it. It's pretty appealing." For that last part I channeled all of the "smooth" I had in me and I think she got the message.

"Oh, Mr. Arken, there may be time for _that_ later. Let's at least finish dinner first." I didn't actually know what _that_ was but I played it off like I did.

We went back to eating and made more small talk. Every so often the look on her face would return. "I think something in this is bad." She kept messing with her mystery dish. Maybe that was the problem? After a little bit longer I decided it was time.

"Red, I have a question for you. And please, if you really have any feelings for me at all, please don't give me any bullshit." She looked at me with obvious concern.

"Is something wrong, Ryan?" I waited a moment, contemplating dropping the whole thing. It was possible Melanie didn't know anything. Not everyone at Abstergo could be a Templar. I guess I figured with how high up she was she'd have to know something. I took a deep breath and then just went for it.

"Red, who is Desmond Miles?" At first there was nothing. I didn't even know why I thought that, that was the right question but over half the information I got from hacking pertained to him. After another moment Melanie's face twisted into the hardest and most stern face I had ever seen from her. She looked like a different person altogether.

"Not a good question. That path is dangerous, are you sure you want to walk down it?"

"I was born ready." She leaned back and crossed her arms.

"I had a feeling this day would come eventually. So instead of trying to cover for Abstergo, I'm going to give you exactly what you're asking for. Desmond Miles was an Assassin. An Assassin who died to save us all." I certainly wasn't expecting that answer. It must have been on my face because she continued. "Remember last year? That solar flare that knocked out the power for a while?" Yeah, it was just over a year ago, last October. A solar flare crossed the earth, apparently it was some kind of miracle that it didn't destroy us. "Desmond stopped it by sacrificing his life. An act we Templars are thankful for despite the fact we tried to have him killed multiple times." She was being very…forthcoming with this information. She wasn't even hiding her Templar affiliation. "So, Mr. Arken, how'd you find out about us?"

"I was the hacker. Not John." I don't know what compelled me to tell the truth but if she was going to, so was I. "He actually made me do it, but I did some of my own as well." She squinted but remained unmoved.

"John, huh? Was he an Assassin?"

"Sort of. You saw the footage right? That guy, the Sage, he was the reincarnation of him." Once again she was quite passive.

"I see. Tell me Ryan, how much do you actually know about us?"

"I know enough. You Templars want to control the world and the Assassins want everyone to have their freedom even if it means chaos."

"A fair judgment. Actually I have something for you." Melanie went and got her communicator. She messed around with it and then all the sudden I got a message on mine. "In that file is-," Before she could explain I heard one of the loudest stomach growls in recent memory come straight from Melanie. In that moment we were both silent. She turned a light shade of red and I was immediately less intimidated by her all of the sudden. She looked like she was about to say something else but that was cut off as well when she gave an equally loud burp in my general direction. She got that disgusted look again and placed her hand on her stomach. "Just look at the file. I'll be back." With that she sped off to the bathroom again. What was about to happen in there, I didn't want to know.

I decided to look at the file. I pressed the button and a video started to load. There was a fade in and then a face. A face I hadn't seen in many years. The face of my dad. I jumped back in my chair but then he started talking. "Is this thing on? Okay good. While I'm not certain which of you is receiving this, I hope it is at least one of my sons. Hopefully it's you Ryan, you should see this before Will does. You'll explain it better. You always were the thinker between the two of you. He was always much more physical in his approach to problems." My dad laughed before erupting into a cough. "Anyway I know it's cliché but if you're watching this then that means your mother and I are likely dead. And you've made contact with the Templar order. I told them to give you this if you ever became involved with them. I don't have time to explain everything but I want you to know something very important."

"If you get the opportunity to join the order, I want you to take it. And bring Will in on it too." That certainly shocked me but I didn't have time to think, I had to pay attention. "The Templars want to unite the world, control it with order so that we can live in a world without pain. You're mother and I believed in that, we were amongst them. Now that probably doesn't make sense to you but we need you guys to continue our work. It isn't for the faint of heart though. You need to focus on the greater good and nothing else. I know it sounds vague but please take the opportunity if you get it. I love you son, please believe that. I think you can finish what we started. There is more left to tell but I don't know if I'll get-," The video stopped right then. Nothing else.

I found that I was crying looking at that black screen as Melanie came back. She wordlessly sat back in her seat with one more burp before commenting. "So, how'd it go?" I looked at her.

"My dad was…one of you."

"Yeah, and damn good. Or so I hear. He's why we chose you." I raised an eyebrow and wiped away my tears. "It's true, you were picked amongst many others because of your parents. They believed you and your brother could continue what they started. An Assassin killed them you know? I'm sure you did but I thought I should mention it."

"No, I didn't know." I barely croaked that out. Melanie stood up and walked over to a single person chair amongst her couches. She motioned for me to follow and then sit in said chair. I did, although I wasn't sure why. It was quite comfy though, looking at the bright side. She placed her hands on the arms of the chair and moved her face very close to mine. "Let's cut to the chase Ryan. You have two options. No wait…you have three. One is that you quit. Leave Abstergo and never again mention any of the information you have. You'll live peacefully and the world will continue as it was. Secondly you could try to go public with your information but you wouldn't get far. The Templars would have you killed in a week." I looked at her in horror but wasn't actually surprised by that outcome. "And then there is the third option, and you're only getting this because I care about you. You keep your job and you join us." And then the moment came. "Continue your families work Ryan, come join the Templars. With your help we can change the world."

"Think about it." She continued. "Think of all the wars in the world. Think of the woman getting raped right now! Think of the men dying horrible death because someone made a choice. A choice to do evil. With us those things can't happen. Your brother can come too, the brothers Arken can be united. You'll be rich and powerful. All you have to do is agree." Want to know what the weirdest thing about this was? I wanted to do it. I thought of everything I had experienced and all I could see was John's smiling face. I could help stop people like him. I thought of all of the dead and dying around the world and wondered if I really could make a difference. Could I hurt people though? That was my biggest problem. But then I remembered my fathers words, "the greater good" and I made my decision.

I looked Melanie right in her eyes, only inches form mine and said, "When do we start?" She locked lips with me and the world changed.

* * *

><p>Well that certainly took longer than expected but I think it was worth it. To any readers who enjoyed, Ryan's adventures aren't over, they have just begun. I intend to someday make a sequel story about Ryan and Will's adventures in Templaring. It's the story for AC I always wanted to right. Don't know when it will come but it certainly will. Hope you guys enjoyed.<p> 


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